


Post Traumatic Automatic(HLVRAI AU)

by Solious



Category: HLVRAI - Fandom
Genre: Gen, HLVRAI, Post Traumatic Automatic HLVRAI AU, half life vr but the ai is self aware - Freeform, hlvrai au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:22:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25595716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Solious/pseuds/Solious
Summary: After beating Half Life VR Gordon's mind has wandered about Coomer's speech. He hasn't forgotten about them sure but he has no idea what happened to them when the game ended. So he decides to re-enter the game, and learns that things have changed, whether for better or for worse.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 33





	1. New Beginnings and Old Remembrances

It’s been a while since Gordon had entered that hellscape of a game, Half Life was fun, but that game in VR was a living nightmare, especially with the AI being as they were; and yet, he couldn’t stop thinking about them. Coomer’s line of “I don’t know what’s going to happen to us when you exit the game for good. But I know we’ll never forget you.” sent shivers down his spine when he first heard them, he hasn’t forgotten them, and had made sure he never would. However since the ending he hasn't really been thinking all that clearly, he stares at his headset some days and some other days he eyeballs the game on his desktop. So one day, he inhales, and exhales, eats his breakfast, calls a day off work even, and goes back into his room, picks up the headset, and turns it on.  
Gordon would look through Steam VR, scrolling through his library attempting to find the game he was dead set on playing. It wasn’t there, where did it go? he thought as he’d continue to scroll through the library. It took him a moment but he’d find it, it was essentially a black void, there was no icon visible. He’d select it, and the screen would go black for a moment as it loaded, it was taking a rather long time to load, but it wasn’t long before the familiar Valve intro played and he was right into it. The menu was the same, Gordon, the in game character, was up in front and the options were to the side. However an extra option peaked Gordon’s interest.

  
It was colored in orange, unlike the rest of the options displayed on the screen, it would read: “Post Automatic DLC”. Gordon would look at the option confused as he selected it with his controller. It would tell him to select Easy, Normal, or Hard, no training mode or anything of the sort. Why the hell is Valve releasing a DLC to Half Life after an AI update? Gordon would think to himself as he picked the Normal mode, and the screen would cut to black. The loading G would appear on his screen, staring him dead in the face as he awaited the game to load proper.  
As the game loaded fully Gordon would be placed in a sort of home like structure, as if he were waking up from a long night's rest. He’d get up from the bed and stare at his hands, his left one was normal, no HEV suit, just his own hand, his right hand the same, although a faint scar looped around where his arm had been cut off. He’d blink, hearing his own screams and the laugh of those two guards again would cause him to sit back on his bed, unsure of how to take this all in, as he continued to stare at the scar on his arm. “Daddy! Daddy!” he could hear a slightly obnoxious but cute voice coming from downstairs.

  
It couldn’t be… Gordon thought, looking over at his doorway as a small boy rushed in with a tugboat in hand and a cowboy hat in the other; the kid, Joshua, as Gordon remembered, would tug on his t-shirt. “Daddy let’s play cowboys yeah? Please please! You can be pirates!” Joshua would jump up and down like a little bundle of energy. Gordon would gulp slightly as he stared at the kid, brown hair, blue eyes, the kid looked to be around 6 years old by this point. “S-Sorry, k- Joshie..” said Gordon catching himself, getting into character as best he could, “Isn’t today your… um… first day of school?” Josh would pause, staring at Gordon, “But I don’t wanna go! No!” he’d say, stomping on the ground.  
Gordon would grumble and place his hands on his head, “Listen, Joshie, Daddy’s a little stressed at the moment… I’ll meet you downstairs and get you ready…” Josh would groan and whine but eventually run downstairs making a loud honk noise, leaving a trail of the sweet voice behind. Gordon would look and see the colors shift right away, yellow to green. Gordon would stare at the sweet voice for a while before hearing people talking downstairs, two voices, Joshua’s and he couldn’t understand what the other was saying but he could hear Josh’s clearly. “Uncle Coomer! Up Up!” Josh would say, Gordon knew who else was down there now.

  
As Gordon steps down the stairs, he’d come to notice what Coomer was saying finally, “Hello Joshua! I’m glad to see you again, how is your father?” Gordon would wait on the last step, listening to the two speak. “Daddy said he was stressed. Didn’t even want to play cowboys with me!” As Gordon listened he heard Josh emit more of the sweet voice from his mouth, “Yellow to Green means you’re mean huh Joshua?” Coomer would say in response, “Well no worries, you’ll have plenty of time to play Cowboys when you get home! I’ll make sure of it!” Gordon would step down another step, and as Josh moved into the other room, Coomer looked over toward the staircase, his eyes beaming as he saw Gordon.

  
“Hello Gordon!” Coomer would yell rushing over to Gordon, “It’s been a while hasn’t it?” Gordon would nod. “Y-Yeah, I’m…” he’d pause as Coomer looked toward him with a smile, surprisingly he was able to smile now despite the model having been limiting, “I’m glad to see you again Coomer…” Inhaling deeply, Gordon would continue, “How has it been?” Coomer would look outside a nearby window as he responded, “It’s been glorious Gordon, ever since we’ve gone our separate ways we’ve done so much with the time we’ve been given so generously! For instance...” as Dr. Coomer went on Gordon would notice his current attire, spacing out as he stared, a Hawaiian tee, a lab coat with the sleeves rolled up, his figure seemed to be noticeably more buff than the last time, and he wasn’t wearing a tie like he used too. “Gordon are you quite alright? You seem to be spacing out?”

  
Gordon would look up at Coomer straight in the face, looking at him, “Huh? Yeah, sorry, I’ve just had a lot on my mind since… you know…” Dr. Coomer would nod, “Completely understandable Gordon! It was a travesty indeed what happened back in Black Mesa, but that was in the past!” Gordon would nod, “Yeah, you’re right… I shouldn’t have to dwell on it…” he’d say as he ran his hand around his right arm. “I just have some concerns Dr. Coomer, what if…” “Gordon… I’ll be truthful with you.” Dr. Coomer would cut Gordon off, as if he knew already who Gordon referred too. “Benrey, while a formidable foe, has no chance of returning… I made sure of that before you came back! So trust me when I say you shouldn’t have to worry!”

  
Gordon would inhale sharply, closing his eyes, “You’re right Coomer…” he’d mumble as he went to sit down in the kitchen, Coomer concerningly following him. Suddenly Joshua came out of the bathroom, wearing a clean set of clothes, red shirt, jeans, and a cowboy hat. “You are not wearing a Cowboy hat to school..” Gordon would grumble as he saw Josh, who would stomp, “Daddy please!” Josh would whine. Coomer would also whine a little, “Come on Gordon, let your son wear his patented Cool Cowboys Cap™!” Gordon would look over at Coomer, “Not you too man come on…” Coomer would give Gordon a look, it was a look of pleading sadness rolled up into one old scientist, it kind of creeped Gordon out how sincere it looked, and it didn’t help that Joshua had joined him.

  
“Fine..” Gordon gave in, there’s only so much of that he could take before it became awkward, he’d tip the hat down on Josh and would get up, “So you want to take the bus or drive?” Coomer would place a hand on Gordon’s shoulder, “Since you seem a little tense today Gordon I’ll drive young Joshua up to his school!” Gordon would look at him, “Are you sure?” he’d respond, “As sure as I’ll ever be! You just make sure you get to work of course! Since Black Mesa has been somewhat defunct due to the incident, you have been one of many chosen by the remaining administrators, to essentially get Back Mesa black on track!” Gordon would stare at Coomer, How the fuck does he know all this? Gordon would wonder, “How do you-” “Joshua’s going to be late for school! I’ll see you at work Gordon!” Coomer would cut Gordon off yet again, slamming the door as he pulled Joshua out with him. Gordon would stand there in complete silence, unsure whether or not he was ok with Coomer barging into his home like this but he’d soon shrug it off, going outside he’d enter his car, turn it on, and begin driving to the location of Neo Black Mesa.


	2. Open Wounds

Gordon was not looking forward to going back to work in a Black Mesa operated facility, let alone be in one again. He’d park his car where the gps had led him and took a look around, it was definitely the old Black Mesa, however it was being rebuilt and cleaned out from the looks of it. Sure, rubble lingered, but that would be cleaned out sooner or later, and the rotting corpses of aliens were still strewn about the place would be as well, hopefully Gordon thought. He would sharply inhale and walk up to the entryway, standing up there was a familiar face, although most of the scientists surrounding him looked the same one stands out from the rest, he was tall, had goggles this time rather than glasses, and wore a hardhat on his bald head along with his science team uniform, which was tattered and had burn marks. “Bubby?” Gordon would question as he got closer to the scientist, who’d turn toward Gordon and would look at him with slight disdain.

  
“About time you showed up Gordon! Where have you been?!” Bubby would ask in an annoyed tone. Gordon stared at him, “Sorry, I guess I’ve been really out of it for a while now…” Bubby would groan, “No matter we’ve done plenty of shit without you… Just assist Tommy in whatever he’s doing in the present moment… He might be down by the core…” Bubby’s lack of happiness to see Gordon was a given, so he wasn’t that concerned by it. Gordon made his way down into the Core, looking around the dark corridors, most of which was still a mess with rubble, he’d find Tommy at the end of one and would tap his shoulder. Tommy would yelp a bit, and while Gordon could barely make him out in the darkness he could see that Tommy had also been wearing a hardhat, and had kept his old science team uniform on this whole time, including his tie. “M-Mr. Freeman! Don’t startle me l-like that! I-I thought you were a-a-a prototype!”

  
“A Prototype? You mean the fucked up Bubbys I encountered when we were first down here?” Gordon would ask, “Yeah! W-We’ve captured many already but there are a few l-loose in the core still.” Tommy would look around, “I think there are still a few down here…” Gordon would look around, “Did they give you anything to immobilize them that I could use?” he would ask in a whispering manner, Tommy would nod and hand Gordon a crossbow and a net. As he stared for a moment at the items he held, he’d sling the net over his shoulder and would begin moving back down the corridor, Tommy following behind. A sudden bashing noise caught the attention of both Gordon and Tommy, who looked in the direction of that noise, the sound getting louder as they approached it. Gordon would take aim with the crossbow, looking back at Tommy who looked at Gordon with a concerning look, and as Gordon looked back a Bubby prototype would lunge at them both.

  
Gordon moved out of the way but Tommy would get tackled to the ground, the prototype snarling as it crouched above Tommy like an animal. Gordon would shoot the prototype with the crossbow, it would begin to convulse a bit before falling off of Tommy and curling up on the ground as it whimpered. As Gordon helped Tommy up he’d take a look at the prototype, staring at it, it continued to whimper in pain as the crossbow bolt stuck out from its back. “You alright Tommy? It didn’t hurt you too bad right?” Gordon would ask, looking back at Tommy, who would nod silently, “It only scratched me… I-I think I’ll be fine M-Mr. Freeman!” Tommy would grab the net from Gordon and wrap it around the immobilized prototype, it would lurch a little as he did but otherwise stayed in a curled up position.

  
“We should get that scratch cleaned up..” Gordon would say as he looked at Tommy, the scratch was across his cheek, and while not cut too deep it was still bleeding rapidly. “I-I’ll bring the Prototype too! W-We have a safe place for them back on the s-surface!” Tommy would smile as he carefully grabbed the end of the net and hoisted it onto his back, making his way down the corridor. Gordon would follow as well, softly smiling as he did so, keeping the crossbow aimed should anything else pop out at them, however something had caught his eye as they made it toward the staircase upward. A skeleton, however it seemed to be missing a few textures, his arms, and legs. Gordon lowered the crossbow and stared at the skeleton, who stared back, as Gordon began to feel exponential pain in his right arm, causing him to drop the crossbow and scream in agonizing pain. This wasn’t just happening in game either, it was happening to him in the real world as well, he could feel the pain, and it was unbearable, and as Tommy called his name and ran up to him, Gordon’s screen faded to black, and Gordon threw off his headset.

  
Holding his arm tightly, Gordon would tremble as he stared at his headset, “What the fuck?!” he’d yell as he scrambled to his feet. “Gordon are you alright?” Coomer’s voice could be heard through the speakers, which caused Gordon to jolt, and sit on his bed, “Don’t let my disembodied voice scare you Gordon! I’m just checking in on you! After all, I can’t in good conscience not check up on you after that display!” “How did you know what happened? Me and Tommy were-” Gordon would be interrupted, “Oh I can see everything Gordon! I have eyes everywhere in here!” A loud buzzing noise would begin emitting from the speakers, “What is that?” Gordon would ask as he picked up the headset, but Coomer wouldn’t respond, the buzzing persisting from the speakers. Gordon, with hesitance, would place the headset back on his head, and grab the controllers once more, the game would start up once again, and the black on his screen would fade out, showing him he was outside.

  
“M-Mr. Freeman!” Tommy’s voice could clearly be heard, “Get the man some ice for his stupid little shit arm. Come on! We don’t got all day damn you!” Bubby would yell from afar. Gordon would sit up and hold his head while supporting his body up with the other. He’d look over at Tommy, who immediately spoke before Gordon even could, “Mr. Freeman! You’re a-awake!! Y-Y-You passed out for no reason! We didn’t know if-” Gordon would cut Tommy off, “I’m fine… jesus christ my head... What do you mean I passed out for no reason? A-” Gordon would pause, “W-Where did it go?” Tommy would tilt his head, “What are you talking about Mr. Freeman?” “The Skeleton! You didn’t see one?” Bubby would look down at Gordon with an ice pack in hand before chucking it on top of the ponytailed scientist, “Gordon there are multiple skeletons down there, some of which we haven’t found yet, which one are you referring too?”

  
Gordon would shake his head, “Nevermind… just… What’s with the ice?” he’d ask, pointing at the ice pack, “For your gaping arm wound of course, you reopened your stupid flesh wound when you passed out! Blood everywhere!” Bubby responded, placing the ice on Gordon’s arm, which would cause him to wince for a moment. “Dr. Coomer stitched it back up! He’s more than just a scientist that’s for sure, I’m… almost impressed!” “Thank you Dr. Bubby!” Coomer’s voice drew closer as you’d look over at him, he was walking over toward you all. “Hello Gordon!” he’d state with a smile. Gordon would wave with his good arm and sigh, “Dr. Coomer, can I talk to you alone for a moment?” Coomer would smile and nod, “Why of course Gordon! I’m willing to talk to a good friend!” He’d then help Gordon up and both make their way toward the front of the building, leaving Tommy and Bubby alone.

  
“Now, Coomer, you said you made sure Benrey was taken care of?” Gordon would whisper, “I’m pretty sure I did Gordon… deleted his file and everything!” Coomer would retort, a little louder, “What do you mean his file? His company records?” “Nope!” Gordon would stare at him for a moment, “So that wasn’t a hallucination…” he’d murmur, “Coomer you actually spoke to me through my computer didn’t you?” Coomer would nod in a joyous manner, “Yep!” Gordon would look over toward Bubby and Tommy, “Do they know you can do that?” Coomer would answer rather quickly, “Gordon I’d advise that we don’t tell them.” “And why not?” Gordon would ask, but Coomer would put his hand over Gordon’s mouth, staring him directly in his eyes, “Gordon.” was the only word that came out of Coomer’s mouth and it was stern.

  
Gordon would remove Coomer’s hand from his mouth, “Ok I get it, we don’t tell them, but… how were you able to do any of this?” Coomer would smirk a bit, “I can show you Gordon! After all, you are my friend, and the player!” Gordon would tilt his head, “Player..? What are you on about Coomer-” Gordon would be cut off as Coomer nabbed him and the both jumped into the sky. As they got higher Gordon would scream in fear as they passed the sky, entering a void like are, Coomer would continue to hold onto him as they floated around for a bit, “Where are we… Dr. Coomer?” Coomer would stay silent, something appearing in front of him, a large screen of sorts. Coomer would blink, “Look Gordon!” he’d point to the screen as it’d show his room, and his real self standing there in his VR gear. Gordon would stare, “I don’t believe it, when… how? I-” Gordon would look at Coomer, “Dr. Coomer?”

  
Coomer would stare at the screen for a moment, “Gordon… when you’re isolated for a long time… you tend to get bored! I learned that I could force myself awake while you were ‘asleep’! So I could see you!” Gordon would blink and think about that for a moment before looking back up at the screen, speaking, “Coomer?” “Yes Gordon?” Coomer would reply, “How did… you get rid of Benrey?” Coomer would look at Gordon and inhale, “Gordon… I threw out his file from this place, It’s no longer in the game… and he’s no longer going to bother you or the others again!” Gordon would look down, “But I saw one of his skeletons… it looked jacked up and some of its textures were missing. I don’t think you finished the job Coomer..” he would sigh as would Coomer, who would look down as well, “I know…” he’d murmur.


	3. Familiar Faces In Old Places

“What do you mean you know?” Gordon would ask, staring at Coomer as the scientist looked back at the screen in front of him. “Well… Gordon have you ever heard of a backup file?” Gordon would nod, Coomer would then continue, “Well Gordon, a backup file here is only called in should something happen to the original file! Like a failsafe! Meaning Benrey is not totally gone!” Gordon would look at him, “So what you’re saying is that Benrey isn’t gone like you and I hoped?” Coomer would nod and smile, “Precisely Gordon!” Coomer’s smile would fade slightly, “I… just hoped he wouldn’t start coming back… this fast.” The two would stay silent for a good while, staring out into Gordon’s room across from the screen, seeing himself was so surreal in the weirdest possible way.

  
Gordon would look over at Coomer, “Dr. Coomer… I know that this world isn’t exactly… real… but it’s real to you… and-” Coomer would look back at Gordon, “Don’t worry about what I think Gordon! What matters is how the game reacts to you now!” he’d smile. “But-” Coomer would interrupt him again, “Come along now Gordon! We should get back to the others!” he would grab Gordon by the arm, both of them beginning to free fall through the void back down to the world below. On the way, Gordon would catch a glimpse of Benrey again, wearing his helmet, and still a skeleton, but before Gordon could make out the rest of him, he was already back on the ground in front of the old Black Mesa entrance. Gordon would look around him, “Where did you two go?!” Tommy would yell, almost scaring Gordon out of his coat, “Tommy, don’t sneak up on me!” he’d respond a bit annoyed.

  
“S-Sorry… Dr. Freeman…” Tommy would back away a little bit, allowing Bubby to speak, “Seriously though where did you two go? We looked over here and you both weren’t there.. Now you are? What the fuck?” “Don’t worry about it Professor! We just went-” Coomer would get interrupted by Bubby, “Doc. Tor.” he’d growl, “-And took a stroll!” Coomer continued unphased. “Well let us know next time cause one of the prototypes escaped while you were gone and we’re having troubles finding it. It’s the one you and Tommy caught recently Gordon.” Bubby would look at Gordon, “So I need you to put this on.” Bubby would guide Gordon over to a tube like structure, inside was an HEV suit, that was modded with an arm cannon similar to that of Gordon’s old one.

  
“What if I don’t want to?” Gordon would ask carefully, “I don’t want to be put in another dangerous death scenario! Where I could be put at risk, especially in an almost destroyed facility!” Bubby would walk up to Gordon, staring him directly in the face, removing his Goggles to reveal his glasses underneath, “Gordon? I wasn’t asking.” Gordon would inhale and exhale, “Alright… alright fine.” he’d agree, grabbing the suit as he put it on over his clothes. The intro to the suit would play as it welcomed Gordon again, however a couple seconds into the speech the voice would change to Bubby’s, “Alright Gordon, listen if you want to survive, I modified the HEV suit with that gun arm you had, should work the same as it has before. I also added a little heart monitor to your HEV Suit just to keep track of your heart rate. That was Coomer’s idea…” Gordon would look over at Coomer, who would wave at him and smile again. “The suit will apply serotonin should your heart rate get too high, sporadic, and so on.” Gordon would look at Bubby and Tommy, “So how much of this suit did you modify?” Tommy would respond, “I- I added a portable health pack to your HEV suit Dr. F-Freeman! Of course… i-it was Dr. Coomer’s idea! B-But it recharges using soda!”

  
Gordon would nod, continuing to listen to Bubby’s pre-recorded voice, “One more thing Gordon, I gave the Suit a bit more power, over 100 up to 200 now! Gives you a boost unlike the garbage shit suit Black Mesa created… That’s all I have for you! Now do your fucking job.” Gordon would stare at Bubby, “So where did it go?” Bubby would grab Gordon’s arm and bring him back into the building, down the stairs and into a room, where a large, green, portal stood. “In there!” he’d say with a cheeky smile, “We waited for you to get back considering… you know… you actually know how to use the suit and all..” Gordon would chuckle lightly and sigh, “Great… fantastic, I gotta go into another fucking portal…” he’d murmur, looking back over to Bubby, “See you in a bit hopefully…” he’d say as he jumped into the portal.

  
As green flashed around him he’d close his eyes, feeling himself falling into a liquid, it was a water like consistency, he’d open his eyes and take a look around, hearing growling all around him, the liquid beneath him was red, he was back in Xen, back where he fought Benrey. Gordon would stand up, taking a closer look at his surroundings he would see Bubby prototypes left and right, all around him, glaring at him from different angles, he’d aim the arm cannon at one as they all began surrounding him. “Gordon can you hear me?!” Bubby’s voice yelled through the HEV Suit, “Bubby?! Bubby! Listen there is more than one prototype in here and-” “What?! I can’t hear you, you’re cutting out! Speak louder damn it!” Bubby would interrupt. Gordon would growl and jump onto another platform away from the Prototypes, beginning to shoot at them from the vantage point he had. “Wow look who’s here…” a familiar voice would echo in Gordon’s ear, causing him to freeze in place and stop shooting. “It’s been a while… Where were you man…?” Gordon would look around him, freaking out as his heart rate slowly sped up. “Seratonin Administered, calm the fuck down Gordon.” Bubby’s pre-recorded voice would say as Gordon fell off the platform, and as he fell, he would see a skeleton, wearing a security uniform, staring directly down at him, Gordon would close his eyes and plunge into the depths of the water below him.


	4. Xen Revisited

Gordon could feel the Xen water around him splash above him, however could feel himself sinking into it like tar. He couldn’t move, and his eyes were still closed but he felt as if he was drowning, as if his lungs began filling up with the Xen water, but it didn’t kill him, it only endlessly suffocated him. He managed to then open his eyes seeing two large, yellow and red eyes sharply gazing at him, they would blink, revealing there to be others staring directly at him from above. A large skeletal hand would reach into the water snatching Gordon and quickly pulling him up from the water, Gordon would inhale sharply and cough profusely as he broke through the surface. Gordon would finally look up, staring at Benrey in his face, the Prototypes staring directly at them both from below, but not making any moves themselves, as if they were fixated by Benrey.

Gordon would struggle violently, attempting to break free from his grasp, attempting to free his arm cannon to shoot him, something to get himself out of this. “Woah man… calm down.” Benrey’s voice would boom loudly, echoing throughout the room they were both in, “Why would I calm down?! Why SHOULD I calm down?!” Gordon would retort as he got his arm cannon free and would begin to shoot wildly at Benrey, who would block the bullets with his other hand. However Benrey would wince, like it hurt him, like it physically hurt, “Look man I know we didn’t have the greatest time back there but you gotta hear me out bro… Listen to me…” Benrey’s voice sounded rather genuine and worried, but Gordon wouldn’t bat an eye, “Why should I listen to you!? You’ve caused nothing but trouble, and I thought I fucking killed y-” Gordon would get cut off by a cascade of pink to green balls floating around him. With that, Gordon felt calm all of a sudden, it wasn’t just the serotonin being administered to him by Bubby’s modified suit, this was the sweet voice’s affect on him. “Calm down.” Benrey would state, looking around for a good moment before directing his gaze back at Gordon.   
  


“Alright man… what do you want?” Gordon would ask, sighing, he might as well hear him out. Benrey would place Gordon down on a platform above him, placing his hands on the platform, looking at Gordon like a saddened dog, “Man I didn’t wanna be mean… you didn’t listen to me… I was just trying to protect you y’know?” Gordon would respond with a sigh, “Benrey… you said before that I made you the villain? That I caused you to be like this? What were you even protecting me from?” Benrey would look up, staring at a portal above them both, “huh..?” Benrey would blink, not responding to Gordon, his eyes fixating back to him. “... You want to go back do you?” Gordon would ask, Benrey would stare for a moment back at the portal, “I dunno man…” he’d murmur, and suddenly he’d shrink to Gordon’s height, “You don’t even listen to me bro, kinda pisses me off…” Gordon would raise both of his hands, “Benrey…” he’d begin before a voice would yell from his suit, “Gordon! Do you hear me?!”

Gordon would respond loudly, “Y-Yeah! Bubby, I can hear you loud and clear!!” Bubby would speak normally this time around, “Gordon don’t yell at me! I can hear you perfectly without your banshee voice.” Gordon would sigh, “What do you need Bubby?” Gordon would hear Coomer in the background, “Look Doctor Bubby! Ropes!” Bubby would pause for a moment before continuing to speak to Gordon, “Wherever you went Gordon, your suit seems to be having malfunctions, clearly being the area’s fault, you need to pull out immediately!” Gordon would look at Benrey, their eyes gazing at each other, “What about the Prototypes?” Bubby would grumble, “What about them? Wherever they are it’s the problem of the state now. We have bigger problems now back here with the core- Dr. Coomer?!” Suddenly the sound of someone entering a portal would echo in the room, as Coomer would fall from the portal, rope wrapped around his waist. Benrey would grow back into his giant form and would quickly catch Coomer with his skeletal hand, “Yo.” he’d say as Coomer looked up at him, a blank expression on his face, “Thought you could get rid of me huh?”

Coomer jolted and would hop out of Benrey’s grasp and into the water below, “Dr. Coomer!” Gordon would yell, jumping off the platform he was on as Benrey would reach into the water. “Gordon!” Benrey would yell in a monotone voice, attempting to nab him mid air, but Gordon would slip past and enter the water below, this time holding his breath. He would see Coomer’s green eyes glow from afar, but he was unable to move once again while under the Xen water. Coomer would then begin getting closer and closer to Gordon, being able to move in the water himself, however he looked tired, almost as if something was making him weak; breaching the water, Coomer would hurl Gordon into the portal above them, causing Gordon to scream as he crash landed into the wall ahead of him. “Mr. Freeman! Are you alright?!” asked Tommy, whose voice was barely audible with the blaring alarms screeching around them, “Yeah I’m alright Tommy… where’s Bubby?” he’d ask, “Wait… shit we have to go back!” he’d yell rushing back toward the portal, but Tommy would stop him, “ Mr. Freeman we can’t! B-Bubby said to take you back to the s-surface as soon as you got out!”

Gordon would retort, “But what about Coomer?! He’s stuck in there!” Tommy would think for a moment, tapping his foot with anxiety, looking back at the portal, “Coomer needs our help Tommy, he’s in there with Benrey.” Tommy would widen his eyes, “H-H-He’s back?!” Tommy would grab Gordon, “Are you sure? W-What if it was just one of his l-left over skeletons?” Gordon would shake his head, “Something… brought him back…” He’d look behind Tommy to see Bubby rushing toward them, “Why are you two still in here?! The core’s gonna blow you dolts!” Gordon would glare at him, “What about Dr. Coomer?! He’s in there with Benrey and who knows if he’ll get out alive!” Bubby would stare as the building shook, an explosion could be heard in the distance, “What is the matter with you two?! Come on!! Coomer can find another way out of there we have to go!” Portals would suddenly begin to open around them, left and right as another explosion could be heard, “Come on! Before these portals begin encasing us!”   
  


Gordon would sigh, looking over at Bubby before rushing back into the Portal, green would once again flash around him as he began to free fall back into Xen, his eyes shifting around as he realized that darkness was all that encompassed the area. “Gordon!” Tommy’s voice could easily be heard, echoing through the large tube like room, “Tommy! You followed me?!” “So did I.” said Bubby, although reluctantly. “Can you guys see anything in this darkness?” Gordon would ask, as they continued to freefall, “Nope. My night vision somehow can't cover this…” Bubby would retort, rather pissed. Suddenly, the three of them would land rather roughly on a wet surface, almost as if it was drained, and getting up Gordon would notice large green piercing eyes staring down at him, “What the fuck?” Gordon would state out loud in a fearful tone. Gordon soon caught something, it was a body, laying flat on the ground, Dr. Coomer? Gordon thought as he drew closer to it, turning it around to find that it was Benrey, unconscious, badly beaten and almost cold to the touch; Gordon could then hear a booming voice, as Gordon could finally see who owned the green eyes above him, it was Coomer, who’d yell, “Hello Gordon!”


	5. Let’s give them a good show!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (Author Note: Been a while since I updated this, since today is HLVRAI's Anniversary I thought updating this would be the best thing I could do. It's a pretty short chapter this time around(then again not many of these other chapters are longer), but that is due to irl obligations and not exactly being as invested in it as I once was. I will update this again in the future, but I do not know how soon that future will be. Hopefully you enjoy this chapter regardless.)

Gordon would scramble to his feet, while Bubby and Tommy got into their own fighting stances, with Tommy bearing arms and Bubby holding fire in his palms, this looked too familiar, and Gordon didn’t like it. “Dr. Coomer?! What happened?! What did you do?” Coomer would smile slightly, “Isn’t it splendid Gordon? I finally did what I had to do! For you to keep playing, for Benrey to stop his torment on you, on us? I could never be happier.” Coomer would pause, “But… you’ll still have to exit the game at some point! I know that you’ll… ‘Sleep’ again! I do not think that I will be able to handle that!” Gordon would just look over to the others, and then down at where Benrey was, but he would have disappeared. Gordon would laugh worryingly as he looked back up at Coomer, who was looking back down at him with a wide smile. Gordon would move back a bit, “Dr. Coomer… We…” Coomer would pick Gordon up to his dismay, he would yell for the other two, who would attempt to grab him from Coomers grasp, but would fail to do so. “Gordon. I don’t think I can allow you to leave…” Coomer’s voice became low toned, “With Benrey gone, you’ll have no worries. Not anymore anyway. I might seem scary now, but with time my good friend you will love it!” Gordon would nod nervously, attempting to pull his arm cannon out from Coomer’s grasp, however Coomer would have a locked grip, it was impossible to do so. “Dr. Coomer you can’t keep me in here forever, I have a life outside of here! I have to go eventually!” he would yell, as Coomer tightened his grip, “I can’t live in the game forever!” Tommy would pull out a crossbow, aiming it for Coomer, who would only chuckle at Gordon, “Oh Gordon you and your jokes…” his green eyes piercing Gordon’s own.

Tommy would fire the Crossbow bolt, causing it to embed into Coomer’s right eye, causing him to drop Gordon suddenly. Coomer would blink and look down at Tommy with a dead eyed stare, causing Tommy to rush over to Gordon and help him up, “We need to get out of here!” Bubby would yell at them both, Tommy would nod, “D… Doctor Bubby is right! We should get going!!” Gordon would nod in agreement, following Bubby up a few platforms with Tommy. Coomer would yell, “Oh no you don’t!!” slamming his fist into one of the platforms, causing it to crumble under them; as they fell, Tommy would pull out his pistol, beginning to wail on Coomer with every bullet it had. Suddenly, they would all fall into a portal that would open up below them, “Good news gentlemen, I do believe I’ve found out how to think with Portals!” Gordon would look around, he was in a black void, he could not see Bubby nor Tommy, and his flashlight did not work either. He would stand up, noticing his heart rate go up he would inhale slowly and exhale slowly, getting a feel for the room he was in he would look around for a wall, attempting to feel for each side.

There were no walls in this place, in fact, there seemed to be no floor either, he was standing on air, was he nocliping? No, he would have activated it, this was something else, this was not caused by him, or Coomer. Suddenly, a voice would emerge from all around Gordon, “GORDON FREEMAN, YOU. SHOULD. NOT BE HERE.” It sounded like the Vox, but they were nowhere in Black Mesa last time he checked, Gordon would raise his gun arm, “Who’s there?!” he would yell, aiming around him. The Vox voice would speak once again, “GORDON FREEMAN, YOU ARE. WANTED. BY. SCIENCE TEAM. PERSONNEL.” Gordon would yell back, “Oh yeah?! Well Gordon Freeman can’t exactly do that till he gets out of this void! So how about you help him out yeah?” Silence would encompass the void for just a moment before it would speak again, “DENIED.” Gordon would grumble, “What do you mean denied?! I gotta get back out there, c'mon help me out here!” “DENIED” the voice would respond back, “GORDON FREEMAN, REPORT TO. BLACK MESA. FIND. SOLDIER. BRING HIM BACK HERE.” a portal would open up in front of Gordon, who would shake his head and scream into the void, “ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! Coomer could end up killing both Tommy and Bubby, and you want me to find a ‘soldier’ that’s still in Black Mesa?” he would laugh, “You’re kidding?” The voice would stay silent, “At least tell me why? Is he going to help me?” the silence would continue for a moment before The Voice would speak again, “YES.” Gordon would sigh, just entering the portal soon after, “Alright man… let’s see what you got in store for me this time, can’t be worse than Coomer going Benrey on us…” his vision would flash green, and before he knew it, he would find himself back in Black Mesa, now in ruins, and in front of him would be a red military beret, covered in burn marks and ash, it was mostly torn up, but still recognizable, it was undeniable, and unfortunately, Gordon knew who he had to find now.


End file.
